Ex-policeman jailed over bid to dodge speeding fine

An ex-police officer who tried to dodge a speeding fine by claiming a Frenchman was driving his vehicle at the time was jailed today.

Mark Cuthbertson, 49, thought it was his force's policy to disregard a speeding offence if a foreign national was named as the driver, a court was told.

So when the then serving officer was clocked travelling at 38mph in a 30mph zone on the A52 at Brailsford in May 2005 he claimed a fictitious "Jean-Pierre Renard of Paris" had been the driver.

But a speed camera clearly snapped the policeman behind the wheel of the Ford Transit minibus.

The vehicle belonged to the taxi firm Cuthbertson had set up in preparation for his retirement.

Cuthbertson was found guilty of perverting the course of justice in a trial at Leicester Crown Court.

Sentencing him at the same court today to nine months in prison, Judge Philip Head said: "This is a tragedy. It's a tragedy for the police force for which you had served for 30 years and a tragedy for the public, which expects the highest standards from its police officers."

In interviews after his arrest, Cuthbertson told police Mr Renard had visited him on the morning of May 14 2005 to ask if he could borrow the vehicle for a family trip to Alton Towers.

The married father of two, of The Plain, Brailsford, said he agreed. He claimed he did not charge him for the hire to attract more business from Mr Renard in the future, Leicester Crown Court was told.

When Derbyshire Police made inquiries with their French counterparts, they were told the address given for the mystery customer - 4 Rue des Halles - was actually a hotel.

Cuthbertson, who has since retired from the force, claimed the information he gave to police was a "genuine error".

But he has confessed to the offence since his conviction, claiming he committed it in "pure pique" at being caught speeding on his own doorstep.

In mitigation, Chloe Fairley, defending, said her client was "remorseful" at committing the "deceitful and stupid" act.

He was worried about the effects of a driving offence on his police pension and insurance policy for his taxi firm.

Post-conviction, he now stands to lose most or all of his police pension, the court heard.

Judge Head said: "What you did was to make a calculation that by giving bogus details of a fictitious French man...your own constabulary would conclude that a pursuit of a minor offence abroad would not be worth the trouble.

"This is not a brief moment of madness but a sustained and carefully considered course of dishonesty by you.

"What you did was doubly serious. The overwhelming majority of people know they must take the consequences but your position as a then serving police officer makes it so much worse that you behaved in this way."

Speaking after the trial, Derbyshire Deputy Chief Constable Alan Goodwin said: "The suggestion that we automatically take no action in respect to certain types of cases is simply not true.

"There's no formal policy in relation to foreign national drivers but where cases occur involving such a driver, each case is treated on its individual merits to determine whether it is practical or possible to take action against them."